National Capital Region, Philippines — Towns & Travel Guide

What is National Capital Region known for?

The National Capital Region is known for the tight cluster of cities that form Metro Manila around the shore of Manila Bay. It holds the seat of national government. Manila carries the historic capital and its Spanish walls, Quezon City spreads across the largest urban footprint of the group, and the two anchor a dense belt of neighbouring cities on the island of Luzon.

Everything national concentrates here.

Where is National Capital Region?

The National Capital Region occupies a compact stretch of coast and inland plain around the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon. Its cities run together without a break. The built-up ground of Metro Manila spreads from the flat deltaic land at the water's edge back onto rising plateaus and gentle hills, so that Manila sits barely above the tide while Quezon City climbs onto higher ground north-east of the bay.

A river system threads the whole basin. The lowland along Manila Bay drains through channels and creeks that cross the region toward the open water in the west. Reclaimed land now edges the shore.

Beyond the coastal strip the plateaus carry the newer and more spacious districts, and the whole region sits enclosed by neighbouring provinces of Luzon on its landward sides. The bay defines every western view.

What is National Capital Region like?

The National Capital Region carries the national culture of the Philippines at its most concentrated, shaped by centuries of layered history around Manila Bay. Two cities set the tone. Manila keeps the Spanish colonial heritage of its walled old town and the memory of revolution, while Quezon City, planned as a modern capital, gathered government, universities, and the film and broadcast industry of the country.

Both speak Filipino and English. The everyday life of Metro Manila runs on markets, churches, malls, and public arenas that draw crowds from across the island of Luzon. Festivals fill the calendar.

Colonial churches and civic monuments stand a short ride from concert halls and campuses, national museums keep the art and history of the archipelago, and the daily rhythm mixes the old capital by the water with the newer inland city. It is the cultural hub of the whole country.

What is the history of National Capital Region?

The National Capital Region grew around Manila, the Spanish colonial capital founded on Manila Bay in the sixteenth century. The seat of power stayed by the water. Quezon City was later laid out inland as a planned capital and held that role for part of the twentieth century, before the two and their neighbours were grouped together as Metro Manila.

The region has framed the capital of the Philippines ever since.

What is the climate of National Capital Region?

The National Capital Region has a tropical climate of dry and wet seasons, hot all year around Manila Bay. Clear, blazing days fill the dry stretch. From the middle of the year the monsoon brings its rains and typhoons can sweep in off the sea, flooding the low ground before the drier, slightly cooler months settle back over Metro Manila.

The bay tempers the coastal air.

How do you get to National Capital Region?

The National Capital Region is reached through the international airport near the bay and the roads and rail lines that converge on Metro Manila. Ships call at the harbour. Vessels dock along Manila Bay, elevated trains cross between Manila and Quezon City, and expressways run in from the wider island of Luzon.

The bay has been the region's gateway for centuries.